Dark_Rider2k3

So.. my cat is totally enticed by my 55 gallon. She'll swat at the glass as if to try and grab my banjo cat while I'm getting ready for bed.

The problem, however, is that she is now trying to stay on the hood of the tank.

Is this going to be a problem in terms of weight? My cat is umm... anywhere from 3 to 10 pounds.. but definitely not higher then 10.

I don't want her to either:

A. break the hood
B. Fall into the tank
C. Get to the fish
or
D. tip the tank over (the stand it's on is holding it in place just fine, but it's not like a big fancy one.. i just don't know if she jumps off it if it will rock slightly and tip over..

It's my 55 she's interested for some reason.. my 30 gallon and my 20 gallon with my betta in it do not interest her at all lol.

So.. anyone have any feedback?

Thanks ahead of time everyone!!

eiginh

I think repetitive jumping on the hood will eventually break the glass. Unless your cat has some super powers I don't think she can tip over a 275 lb tank. My co-worker has a cat named Que and she is a smart one, even if the hood has little spacing she will still have at it. She even killed this goldfish that was black! So make sure you're tank is fully covered unless you trust her

aquarist48

Hello Dark Rider. I've moved your thread to the "Our Other Pets/Cats" section of the forum.
I had a cat years ago that would climb on top of my 55g tank. She loved to drink out of it until the day came that she fell in. That ended it. lol She never jumped back on it again. You may want to get a squirt gun and squirt her with the water a time or two or three, every time you catch her up there. It may help.
Best of luck!
Ken

Dark_Rider2k3

oh thanks! Sorry i put it in the wrong thread. Didn't mean to.

I'll try the squirt gun method

do you also think that if she keeps doing it, putting her in her carrier as a "timeout" will work?

aquarist48

Hello DarkRider. I don't think I would put her in her carrier for a timeout. She'll learn with the squirt gun I'm pretty sure. Only squirt her if you see her on the tank. Just a time or two. I doubt she would understand why she is being put into her carrier.
Ken
No need for apologies. I'm here to help

Dark_Rider2k3

haha okay. I really don't know what's up with her lately.. she has never done this but this last week she has started to.. it's quite frustrating seeing her atop it trying to paw into the water ><

sirdarksol

It's not likely that the tank will tip over, as Eiginh said, but any of your other three concerns are extremely valid. Every time something impacts non-weightbearing glass, even if it's just the soft pads of a lightweight cat, there's a possibility it will break. Cats are periodically clumsy, and, like Aquarist's cat, yours may fall in. Many types of wild cats are expert fishers, which means that many of our cats still have the instincts to catch fish. I've seen mine trying, before, and had to change a hood in order to put a stop to it.

Dark_Rider2k3

what kind of a hood did you change to? my hood only has a spot in the back where you can see the water.. and I may get some kind of cardboard or wood to put around that opening so that the only opening is for the HOB.

and I don't think she'll get to the fish. They are a little skiddish and doubt they would go curiously up to a paw in the water.

edit:

I just altered the hood slightly. I found some cardboard I was able to affix to the back of the tank.. so the only opening in the tank is where the HOB filter is. I now need to hope she doesn't try to get on there x.x

sirdarksol

I had a glass hood that was missing a piece, leaving a huge open spot. I added a canopy that covers the hood, making it difficult (though not technically impossible) for the cats to get at the fish.

Dark_Rider2k3

well this is the tank:



So Yeah.. there was just a spot on the back where she could get at them.. but i've pretty much limited all that..

sirdarksol

I wouldn't worry quite as much about that tank/top. The plastic tops are pretty resilient. If you don't see it bowing in, there shouldn't be an issue. My cats perch on my plastic top tank all the time and swat at the fish.
I could probably get them to stop with a spritzer, but I'm afraid that the "panicked cat scramble" would damage the top, filter, lights, or even generate enough force to topple one of the smaller tanks.

Dark_Rider2k3

ahh okay. If you think it's fine then I won't worry about it.

It just scares me seeing my cat on top of the tank.. don't want her falling in/messing things up lol.

sirdarksol

It sounds like there's no room for her to fall in, and a 10lb cat isn't likely to create any more disturbance to the tank that a person lightly bumping into it (and every stand should be able to handle that much disturbance; accidents happen, after all), and with a lid like that, she shouldn't be able to go fishing, so you should be okay.
Now, if it seems like she's figuring out how to open the lid, then you've got to worry.

eiginh

Is that all java moss to the right?

kcarmartinez

Actually we HAD a 55.... Our cat was about 12lbs at the time... It was in our finished basement under the window well. Besides the cat loving to drink out of the fish tanks he also liked to jump on top to get to the window. One morning he jumped on it and BROKE the center brace. The tank was bowing out pretty bad so I ran out and got a 75.
The only thing with my tank was it had the two plastic hoods. So I am not sure if maybe yours is a little bit more sturdy with the single light strip. I would definitley try the quirt bottle method. Better safe than sorry.

Dark_Rider2k3

thanks for the tip kcarm!

and yes eig, that is all Java moss that has grown over a piece of driftwood

edit:

OOPS and thanks sirdark! Your post was helpful as well . And I doubt she'll be opening the lid any time soon